Daniel MacIsaac
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Dec 10/99) - When the dust settled at the polls Monday night, incumbent Inuvik MLA Floyd Roland had been re-elected by a landslide and newcomer Roger Allen won the right to represent his riding in a squeaker over Glenna Hansen.

With the division of the riding based on last spring's territorial supreme court ruling, Inuvik was sending two MLAs to the legislature in Yellowknife this time around.

Unofficial results released by Elections NWT early Tuesday morning showed that in Inuvik Boot Lake Roland had garnered 350 votes, compared to 50 for businesswoman Mary Beckett and 20 for New Democratic Party candidate Chris Garven. The race was much tighter in Twin Lakes, where Allen earned 216 votes, just 38 more than runner-up Hansen with 178, while Mayor George Roach finished third with 81.

Unofficial results showed that voter turnout was 70 per cent of the 19,694 eligible electors in the 18 of 19 ridings electing MLAs across the territory.

"It's good to be finished campaigning," said a relieved Roland following the result. "A clear mandate is always good to have, but the 14th Assembly is going to have a very difficult time and there are some large issues out there that we have to deal with."

Roland said the toughest issues are financial, and surround the prospect of a looming territorial debt.

"We're going to have to look at a bit of a deficit here and see how far we can carry ourselves that way," he said, "because if we don't put some dollars and cents into the prevention side of the budget, we're going to be continually under pressure to deal with the existing crises that come up day to day."

Surrounded by his family and friends at the New North Networks "Dome" on Monday night, Roland said he'd keep his options open on the prospect of any cabinet assignment or even the premiership. His wife, Shawna, said it's also a relief for the family, and their four children, knowing that their plans are more settled for the next four years.

"The kids are still young to understand it all, but we told them that if daddy wins, they'd get Christmas presents," she with a laugh.

Spirits were equally high at the home of Gloria Allen on Monday night, where family, friends and supporters were celebrating her brother Roger's victory in Twin Lakes. The new MLA said his emphasis on small business development and support for the renewable resource sector may have proved the difference between his and Hansen's campaigns.

"Our stress has been on economics and business and hers has been more on social advocacy," he said, "and I think people are questioning whether too much money is being put into the social envelope when we have to look at training and the economy."

Allen also pledged to bring seniors' concerns to Yellowknife, adding that it was also the backing of both the elders and youth in Twin Lakes that helped him win the seat.

"All my work revolves around young people, with the young offenders facility," he said, "and we have a joke here that Gloria runs her own youth club because of all the family and kids hanging around the house."

Allen said that with his wife completing her bachelor of education in Fort Smith, the family would be undergoing even more adjustments with his Yellowknife appointment.

He added his company still has more than a year on its contract to run the young offenders facility and that he hopes his employees will be able to take over its administration.